Australian Sam Vander Haar first introduced himself to BYU football fans a year ago at this time when he pulled off a fake punt that gained 22 yards and led to the Cougars’ only points of the second half in a 34-28 win over Baylor.
The redshirt junior further endeared himself to the program three games later when he and kicker Will Ferrin pulled off a fake field goal against UCF in Orlando. Vander Haar, who doubles as the team’s holder, flipped the ball between his legs to Ferrin and the kicker ran 8 yards for a first down. The fake went viral on social media, and earned the twosome — along with deep snapper Dalton Riggs — the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Play of the Week award.
In last Friday’s 38-24 win over West Virginia, Vander Haar was up to his old tricks again, this time faking a hike between his legs to Ferrin out of field goal formation and running 11 yards for a first down.
“I love fakes,” Vander Haar told the Deseret News last week. “I feel very comfortable running with the ball. … With my Australian rules background, running with the ball wasn’t super uncommon. I’m not really nervous to do it, to be honest.”
Monday, Vander Haar met with reporters via Zoom and described his latest successful fake, one that might have gone for a touchdown if a downfield block had been executed more cleanly.
“It was a lot of fun. We have had that one dialed up for a little bit now, so it was good to go out and play my role on the team and get the first down and yeah, humbly, I think I may have gotten to the end zone. Maybe in the future we will run it again and we will see what happens.”
The transfer from Pitt who honed his craft at ProKick Australia in Melbourne said they have practiced the play for months — Baylor transfer Garrison Grimes is the new long snapper — and have been waiting for special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga to sign off on using it.
“We ran it once or twice to just make sure it is up to scratch for when we eventually do run it in a game, and last weekend it was the perfect call,” Vander Haar said. “… We just went out and gave it a crack and executed it, so it was good.”
In his second season at BYU, the 28-year-old Vander Haar — yes, he’s the oldest player on the team — is obviously becoming well-known for his fakes and running ability. But he’s also developing a reputation for being one of the best pin-punters in program history.
Seven of his 12 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line, including big-time pins against East Carolina and Colorado that played a big part in the Cougars’ wins over the Pirates and Buffaloes. Against ECU, his punt late in the first half was muffed by the returner, and a play later Evan Johnson picked off a pass and strolled into the end zone. Against Colorado, Vander Haar pinned the Buffs inside their 5-yard line late in the game and Isaiah Glasker’s interception sealed the win a few plays later.
Even though he often sacrifices distance for accuracy, Vander Haar is averaging a respectable 43.5 yards per punt. He uncorked a 49-yarder against WVU when BYU was pinned at its own 5, gathering a low snap in the end zone and booming a punt into WVU territory.
“He executed the fake, and then his 49-yard punt, I thought was huge in that situation. He is playing at a really high level right now. He is one of the top punters in the country in net punting, and hopefully he continues to do that,” Poppinga said on his “Coordinators’ Corner” program Monday.
‘A team guy’ who sacrifices length for accuracy
Head coach Kalani Sitake called Vander Haar’s ability to pin opponents inside the 20 “a huge weapon” and said he’s an outstanding athlete from his days playing Aussie rules football.
“We know he’s tough, and the thing I can tell you about Sammy is the guy works hard,” Sitake said. “When he got here, he had never been a holder before, so we asked him to do it and and all he did is just go out there and work every day, even during the offseason, the summer, and worked with a snapper, and just worked on getting holds (perfected) as much as possible. He’s made himself a very accurate and very dependable holder for Will Ferrin. So that’s been really nice.
“He’s a team guy, and I appreciate having him on the team,” Sitake concluded.
Fitting in seamlessly at BYU
Vander Haar is not a member of the faith that sponsors BYU, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but has warmly embraced the culture despite having never heard of the faith, or the school, growing up in Australia or spending his first season of college football at Pittsburgh.
He met his wife, Hallie, while on a hike in the Pittsburgh area and they married in 2022. Hallie, a traveling nurse with a degree from Duquesne, is due to deliver on Wednesday.
“Crossing our fingers that it (happens) Wednesday,” Vander Haar said, noting that the 5-0 Cougars are scheduled to fly to Tucson on Friday for their matchup with 4-1 Arizona on Saturday.
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MDT and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
Vander Haar said he and Hallie love living in Provo and that he almost certainly will return next year for his final season of eligibility. He’s majoring in communications and was on track to graduate in December, but has pushed that back to next spring because he wanted to be as present as possible for the birth of their little boy, whom they will name Xavier.
“It is no secret that I do love it here a lot. It is a bit different from my background, culturally, with the church and the faith and things like that,” he said. “I have really bought into it, and allowed myself to be open-minded and I think that has allowed me to really enjoy the experience.
“I love Kalani and coach Pop and the rest of the coaches, and the boys. I think it has allowed me to just enjoy punting and take it pretty cruisy and go out and perform.”
Cruisy is an Australian and New Zealand slang word meaning relaxed, laid-back and easygoing, which teammates say describes Vander Haar to a T.
“It is a big blessing to have Sam,” said defensive lineman John Taumoepeau.
Said Vander Haar of his BYU experience to date: “I am experiencing a new culture, and a new way of living. I love it. It has been fantastic. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
